The language and the course
Albanian has two major dialect groups, Gheg in the north and Tosk in the south. Standard Albanian is predominantly Tosk-based — that is what this course teaches, and it is what every audio clip here uses.
- Read and pronounce the 36-letter Albanian alphabet
- Build real sentences: word order, nouns, cases, verbs
- Handle everyday situations — greetings, food, shopping, travel
Spoken Albanian varies a lot — Gheg in Kosovo and the north is not wrong, just different. Whenever a dialect difference matters for a beginner, a labelled note says so. Everything else in this course is Standard Albanian.
The alphabet at a glance
Albanian uses a 36-letter Latin alphabet. Seven of them are vowels; nine are digraphs — two letters that name a single sound and count as one letter.
| Letters | Notes |
|---|---|
| a | as in 'father' |
| e | as in 'bed' |
| ë | the famous schwa — like the a in 'sofa' |
| i | as in 'machine' |
| o | as in 'north' |
| u | as in 'rule' |
| y | like French 'u' in 'tu' |
| dh | voiced 'th' as in 'this' |
| gj | a voiced palatal — close to 'duke' |
| ll | dark l, like English 'all' |
| nj | as in 'canyon' |
| rr | a rolled trill |
| sh | as in 'ship' |
| th | as in 'think' |
| xh | as in 'jam' |
| zh | as in 'measure' |
The remaining letters — b, c, ç, d, f, g, h, j, k, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z — get their own table with real words in the next article.
Your first words
Ten words you will use in every conversation. Listen to each one.
| Albanian | English |
|---|---|
| përshëndetje | hello; a greeting |
| mirëdita | good day (daytime greeting) |
| mirëmëngjes | good morning |
| mirëmbrëma | good evening |
| natën e mirë | good night |
| mirupafshim | goodbye |
| faleminderit | thank you |
| ju lutem | please |
| po | yes |
| jo | no |
Your first phrases
Whole sentences you can use on day one. Every row is real Albanian with audio.
Përshëndetje!
Hello!
Mirëmëngjes!
Good morning!
Mirupafshim!
Goodbye!
Si jeni?
How are you? (formal / plural)
Mirë, faleminderit.
Fine, thank you.
Si e keni emrin?
What is your name? (formal)
Më quajnë …
I'm called …
Faleminderit shumë.
Thank you very much.
S'ka përse.
You're welcome; don't mention it.
Talking about language
| Albanian | English |
|---|---|
| shqip | Albanian (language) |
| anglisht | English (language) |
| kuptoj | to understand |
| flas | to speak |
| mësoj | to learn; to teach |
| gjuhë | language; tongue |
-
A
A flisni shqip?
Do you speak Albanian?
-
B
Unë flas pak shqip.
I speak a little Albanian.
-
B
Po mësoj shqip.
I'm learning Albanian.
Mini practice
Q1. What does “mirëdita” mean?
- good day (daytime greeting)
- good morning
- good evening
- goodbye
Answer: good day (daytime greeting)
Q2. How do you say “hello; a greeting” in Albanian?
- përshëndetje
- mirëdita
- mirupafshim
- faleminderit
Answer: përshëndetje
Q3. Someone says: “Si jeni?” — what do they mean?
- See you later.
- I'm fine, thank you.
- How are you? (formal / plural)
- What's your name?
Answer: How are you? (formal / plural)
Q4. How many letters does the Albanian alphabet have?
- 32
- 26
- 29
- 36
Answer: 36
Q5. Which digraph is pronounced like the 'ny' in 'canyon'?
- n
- nj
- j
- sh
Answer: nj
